Bathing can be an important bonding experience for a parent and her infant. The tactile sensation the infant receives as the parent washes its body is stimulating and helps develop their relationship. It is desirable for a parent to utilize both her hands as she washes her infant to maximize the effect. Moreover, when the infant is especially young, for example, when the infant is a newborn baby, the parent needs both hands free to cradle the infant's head and maneuver its body. Bathing can also be a messy experience for a parent. This is especially the case with older infants, who tend to play and splash water everywhere.
Once bathing is complete, the wet parent generally will reach for a nearby towel, throw the towel over her shoulder or pin it between her chin and chest, in order to free her hands to reach for the infant, and then lift the wet infant from the bath and start wrapping it in the towel. This process usually requires the adjustment of the infant in the towel, or worse yet, it requires laying the infant down on a changing table or bed, spreading open the towel, which can chill the wet infant, and subsequently rewrapping it in the towel. The chilling of a wet infant can lead to a crying wet infant, which can lead to the infant forming negative associations with bathing, thereby undercutting what should be a meaningful bonding experience between the parent and her infant.
Therefore, there is a long-felt need for a means for maintaining dryness while bathing an infant. There is also a longfelt need for a bath towel which is arranged to receive an infant from a bath, while allowing a parent to keep her hands free.
Bathing a pet can present similar problems. The bather often becomes soaked during the process and similarly requires the freedom of both hands to handle the pet during the bath. There is thus further a need for maintaining dryness of a bather while bathing a pet, which can be met by a bath towel arranged to receive a pet from a bath, while allowing the bather to keep her hands free.